Great Taste Magazine

Many congratulations go out to three of Orange County’s most accomplished sommeliers, as they have been honored with the Trefethen Family Vineyards Passionate Wine Service Award. Christopher Coon of Charlie Palmer in Costa Mesa, Michael Jordan of Napa Rose in Anaheim and William Lewis of The Winery in Tustin were all recognized with this prestigious designation. ”The Trefethen Passionate Wine Service Award is our way to express our sincere appreciation and to convey the recognition these sommeliers deserve for creating and instilling a passion for exceptional wine and wine service,” said Janet Trefethen, president and CEO. The award was created by Trefethen Family Vineyards on its 40th anniversary to honor and thank the top 40 sommeliers in the entire United States. Congratulations go out both to the vineyard and our exceptional local sommeliers!

Bruno Serato, restaurateur, philanthropist and owner of the Anaheim White House, accepted the prestigious award of the Anaheim Walk of Stars on Tuesday, August 19. As the 8th person to be honored with this designation, Serato has joined the ranks of other honorees such as Walt Disney, Carl Karcher and Gene Autry, to name a few. Serato received the award at a special sidewalk ceremony near Disneyland. We congratulate Mr. Serato in this accomplishment, and commend him for his continuing service of Southern California’s restaurant industry.

Congratulations to the Melting Pot OC, which raised $13,000 for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital through their two-month drink special program, “Savor the Summer.” The three Orange County Melting Pot Locations - Brea, Irvine and San Clemente - worked together to sell approximately 2,981 special drinks, and all of the proceeds will be donated to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. Since 2005, The Melting Pot OC has raised $120,000 for this worthy cause - a truly amazing effort that the community is grateful for. 

Costa Mesa’s Avanti Cafe has been named AOL Cityguide’s best OC Vegetarian eatery for the second year in a row! Congratulations to Avanti’s successful operation … and keep up the good work!

July 2008

Congratulations to TAPS Fish House and Brewery, who took the 155th annual California State Fair by storm! Brewmaster Victor Novak brought home two gold medals in the commercial craft brewery competition with the restaurant’s Cream Ale and 90-Schilling Scotch Ale. In just seven years, TAPS has garnered an impressive 32 awards for their beers at international, national,  state and regional levels. Novak has been the brewmaster at TAPS’ Brea location since it opened in 1999, and has clearly been doing a terrific job!

July 2008

On Monday, June 23, R.W. Smith & Co. hosted its 8th Annual Charity Golf Tournament at the Dove Canyon Country Club in Rancho Santa Margarita. Including donations from this year, R.W. Smith’s eight years of scholarship contributions add up to over $100,000, benefitting the company’s charity that provides college scholarships for students majoring in hospitality. In light of the tournament’s continuing success, R.W. Smith & Co. has created scholarship endowments with Cal Poly Pomona, as well as San Diego and San Francisco State Universities. The tournament was a repeated success,  hosting 120 golfers, a huge raffle and a tasty buffet dinner. Congratulations to R.W. Smith & Co. for their continuous support of our culinary community! See our event picture page.

June 2008

Panda Restaurant Group, Inc. announced that Panda Express will donate $1 for each 3-entrée plate sold at all locations from Monday, May 19 to Sunday, June 1. During the two-week period, guests will have the opportunity to help victims of the China earthquake and Myanmar cyclone when they visit any Panda Express restaurant across the country and purchase a 3- entrée plate. Money raised from this campaign will be donated to the American Red Cross China Relief Fund and the Tzu Chi Foundation, a compassionate relief organization dedicated to helping all people.

Three Cheers for Three Years! Chef / Proprietor Stephanie Dinh (center) of “S” Vietnamese Fine Dining celebrated her third anniversary at her customer appreciation party with special guests Vivian (left), & Kim (right) of La Soirée Production

Chef Roy Yamaguchi, Managing Partner Heather Avery and Chef Partner Ron Plata celebrated Roy’s Anaheim GardenWalk opening this Spring, marking the 35th Roy’s to open during their 20th anniversary year.

James Kelly Chef/owner of Owen’s Bistro in Chino has been awarded Chef of the Year by Southern California Restaurant Writers.

The El Cholo Family is celebrating the opening of its eighth restaurant, Café Maiz, in Mission Viejo. Café Maiz combines old-world Mexican charm with the outstanding reputation of El Cholo to create a modern day, quick and authentic Mexican taquería. Owner Ron Salisbury established Restaurant Business, Inc. (RBI) in 1967 to provide his expanding portfolio of restaurants with management, marketing, technical and accounting services. As a family owned and operated business, RBI has launched and managed some of the most successful restaurants in the Southern California region for over 85 years. Salisbury’s grandparents opened the now famous El Cholo restaurant in 1923 in the heart of Los Angeles, and due to the great success and expanding city limits three additional locations were created (La Habra, Santa Monica and Irvine). Other distinctive restaurants in the RBI family include Sonora Café in Los Angeles, The Cat & The Custard Cup in La Habra, The Cannery in Newport Beach, and now Café Maiz.

Russ Bendel Jr., a respected, seasoned restaurant industry veteran, has been named operating partner for the flagship Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar in Newport Beach succeeding Jaye Sechrest who has been promoted to joint venture partner for the Fleming’s restaurants in Arizona and Nevada. Bendel graduated from the Collins School of Hospitality Management at Cal Poly University with a degree in Business Management and since then has been active in the industry. His father, Russ Bendel Sr., served as president of Mimi’s Café, Roy’s and was recently appointed to that position at The Cheesecake Factory.

Congratulations Tommy!Five Crowns’ popular Wine Captain Tommy Martin is celebrating 40 years of service to the restaurant.

Yard House set up shop at their Irvine Spectrum location and prepared thousands of sandwiches for San Diego residents displaced by the recent wildfires. Yard House donated a total of 5, 000 individual boxed lunches, that were delivered to the San Diego Red Cross for distribution to various evacuation centers throughout the county. “We feel this is a very small contribution considering what some people have lost and may lose,” says Harald Herrmann, president and chief operating officer of Yard House. “This hits close to home as many of our employees have been personally affected by this.”

TAPS Brea’s, General Manager, Brady Sherard, wants to make the holidays brighter for local teens so he is continuing the restaurants’ tradition of a giving by teaming up with the Boys & Girls Club of Brea, Placentia and Yorba Linda. TAPS Brea will be giving away certificates to their Sunday Jazz Brunch Extravaganza ($32 value) to generous donors who bring in a gift card with a value of $15 or more. Help spread holiday cheer by donating gift cards to any OC destination to be dispersed to the pre-teen and teens at the Boys & Girls Clubs.

The American Cheesemaker Awards is one of the most prestigious in the U.S. This year, the four days of festivities held at the Fairmont Newport Beach included: cheese tasting, appearances and book signings by celebrity chefs, seminars and demonstrations and the awards ceremony. The winners were announced at the gala dinner and ceremony. Some of the winners recognized were: Best Blue Cheese- Sartori Reserve Dolcina Gorgonzola, Sartori Artisan Foods, Wisconsin; Best Fresh Cow’s Milk- Catare Marscapone, Cantare Foods, California; Best Fresh Goat Cheese- Montchevre Fresh & Natural Goal Cheese, Montchevre, Wisconsin; Best Sheep Milk Cheese- Virgin Pine Nature Sheep, Carr Valley Cheese, Wisconsin; Best Uniquely American Cheese- Sartori Reserve Bella Vitano Wheel, Sartori Artisan Foods, Wisconsin; People’s Choice Cheese- Idaho Golden Greek, Halloumi style, Ballard Family Dairy & Cheese, Idaho; People’s Choice Cheesemaker- Sartori Artisan Foods, Wisconsin.

Chef Danny Stevens of Z’tejas at South Coast Plaza teamed up with the Blind Children’s Learning Center’s youth program coordinator Sharon Mitchell to introduce a new Braille menu at Z’tejas. An event was held to celebrate - a group of young blind men and women assisted youngsters from the Blind Children’s Learning Center as Stevens invited his guests to smell, touch and taste some of the exotic ingredients from the restaurant’s southwest menu. After the demonstration, the group was served a menu item of their choice.

Stop in to raise a pint! Huntington Beach Beer Company is celebrating its 15^th year in business in downtown HB. To honor the milestone, HB Beer will host “A Celebration of Brewing” from October 1-15. Along with 15 craft beers on tap, they will also have food specials and daily giveaways. Brewer Greg Gerovac  has created an Anniversary Beer called HB 15 - “it’s a stronger, darker, generously hopped cousin to our Pier pale Ale.”

Chef Jamie Gwen hosted an all-girl cooking demonstration in August at Girls Incorporated of Orange County in Costa Mesa. Gwen and her manager, Lana Sills, have played an integral part in the renovation of the Girls Inc. center kitchen. Gwen and over 70 girls age 4-12 were taught how to prepare a healthy kid-friendly meal as part of the Girls Incorporated Fit Girls and Families Program.

Stonefire Grill recently had a special luncheon to honor Mojdeh Teimorzdeh with the Braveheart Award, an award that is given to abused women who are committed to starting new lives. Teimorzdeh, 25, endured years of physical and mental abuse and was recognized for her courage. In addition to the award, she was presented a $2500 check and care package. Stonefire also donated $2500 to Human Options, the nonprofit shelter where Mojdeh received support and assistance following her abuse.

Kimera Restaurant Lounge, the newest addition to Dining As Art an exciting collection of restaurants, celebrated their grand opening in Irvine in June. The Lounge was developed by the Ghoukassian Family, owners of Bistango and Bayside Restaurants. Proceeds from the grand opening reception were donated to the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s BRAVO! Support Group.

Big thanks to all the restaurants, wineries and breweries who participated in the sixth annual Taste of Huntington Beach, a benefit for the Huntington Beach Children’s Library and the 3^rd Battalion, 1^st Marine Camp Pendleton. The Awards were presented in seven categories and the winners are for: “Best Taste,” Luggatti’s Italian Restaurant; “Best Dessert,” Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and TomGirl Baking Company; for “Best Brew, ”BrewBakers; “Best Sip,” BV Wineries; “Best Decorated,” Pete Mallory’s Sunset Grille; “Most Enthusiastic,” Erika’s Catering; and for “Best Food Presentation,” Duke’s Surf City, TomGirl Baking Company and Shades, Waterfront Hilton.

Cheers to The Huntington Beach Beer Company – they brought home an impressive gold medal from the 2007 San Diego Fair Commercial Beer Competition. The competition was held at the Del Mar Racetrack and Fairgrounds and attracted 50 breweries. The HB Beer Co. was recognized in the European Amber Lager category for its Vienna Lager described as “a coppery lager with a sweet, malty character.”

Chef Roy Yamaguchi hosted an Island-inspired evening of aloha for CHOC’s Lamp Lighter, Little Mermaid and Small World guilds at Roy’s in Newport Beach. Over 150 guests were greeted with leis, Hawaiian martinis and enjoyed a four-course Hawaiian fusion menu and Island-style entertainment followed.